To combat the heat wave seen this past week, Hood Health co-author shares some tips on the importance of water in our diets
This summer, every corner of the States has been hit by record levels of heat. Add to the temperature, humidity and air quality, it is literally like baking in an oven. With such dangerous levels of heat, it is important to make sure that you are handling your body’s coolant system in order to battle the oppressive heat. It is just like your car. If you don’t keep anti-freeze/water in your car up to par, your engine will overheat. The overheating of your engine will just be one of your problems as consistent and prolonged driving of your car without the proper cooling fluids will cause long term damage to various parts of the car. Not something big like an accident. Yes, something as simple as not keeping the cooling fluids up.
Listen; your body is about 75%, which is also approximately the amount of the planet that is covered by water, is necessary in your life. The body doesn’t produce water, so you have to get your drink on. And by drink on, I mean you need to guzzle some water on the regular. I don’t mean water “substitutes” that are flooding the market. Hood Kool-Aid (1 part Kool Aid, 1 part water and a gang of sugar), soda (otherwise known as fizzy ton of sugar bombs), coffee (it actually strips your body of water…plus, if you’re at a cafe adding mad sugar and milk…I’m just sayin), energy drinks (sugarcrack) and vitamin waters (who thought it was a good idea to add food coloring to water) don’t count. So check it, if you can drink a 40 oz of beer or a bottle of wine you can certainly drink more cups of water.
Water is needed for your body on so many level. It is the main mechanism in your body which flushes toxins out of your body. It is clearing stuff out of all of your organs (not just the kidneys, bladder and liver…these are actually the spot where the toxins are gathered). If the toxins in your body aren’t allowed to get out, they will disrupt your flow in many different ways. One way is that they will try to get out by other means. A lot of those skin eruptions, body odor, respiratory issues, discolored nails, etc comes from toxins seeking another exit out of your body. If you are concerned about your looks in general, you need to keep your water levels high. It works to rejuvenate your skin and hair. Do a before and after pic of you when you weren’t drinking a lot of water and a couple of weeks once you have been on the water grind. There will be a marked different.
Another thing that water does for the body is make sure that all systems are getting the fuel that they need. The same way that waterways are used to move supplies around and between countries is the same way water works in our body as it it the fundamental building block element of our circulatory system and blood. As the body’s streams and rives, it carries oxygen and nutrients to every part of the body. So sometimes, it doesn’t even matter if you are “eating right” if the parts of the body which need the nutrients don’t get them.
Now going back to the beginning of this article. Water works as your body’s coolant system. You need water so that you can sweat and cool off. The immediate effects of being under hydrated can manifest as headaches or even heat stroke. It is also going to mess with your blood pressure. It isn’t enough to just find a cool place. This is often the mistake many of us who work in air conditioned environment or during the winter. When the air around is cool, we neglect to keep on top of our water intake. Your body still needs water. There is no way around it. Yes, there are billion of different bottled waters. Yes the quality of tap water differs from place to place. Yes there is a difference between spring, distilled or alkaline water. This article though doesn’t care about any of that. The first thing we need you to do is just get your water game up. So right after you finish this article go guzzle a nice glass of water. Trust me, you’ll fell better in the short and long run.
-Alife Allah(@alifeallah)
C’BS ALife Allah is the co-editor of the Hood Health Handbook and co-creator of the HoodHealth concept. Check him out at ALifeAllah.com and follow him on twitter @alifeallahor IG @Alifeallah
